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Pentagon to send additional 600 troops to fight IS in Iraq

By Doug G. Ware
Coalition troops from Task Force Strike, 101st Airborne Division arrive at Qayyarah West Airfield in Iraq on September 23, 2016. Wednesday, Sec. of Defense Ash Carter said the Pentagon is sending 600 more troops to Iraq to support the fight against the Islamic State in the city of Mosul. Photo by Capt. Ryan E. Alvis/USMC/UPI
Coalition troops from Task Force Strike, 101st Airborne Division arrive at Qayyarah West Airfield in Iraq on September 23, 2016. Wednesday, Sec. of Defense Ash Carter said the Pentagon is sending 600 more troops to Iraq to support the fight against the Islamic State in the city of Mosul. Photo by Capt. Ryan E. Alvis/USMC/UPI

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 28 (UPI) -- The Pentagon will be sending about 600 more ground troops to Iraq to help Iraqi forces oust Islamic State militants from the contested city of Mosul, officials said Wednesday.

Defense officials said the troops will be sent in a support capacity for Iraqi troops rather than active participants in leading the charge.

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"The coalition to defeat ISIL continues to achieve results on the battlefield, and I congratulate Iraqi security forces on their recent progress, including the operation to free Sharqat," Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a statement. "The coalition will continue to increase the pressure on ISIL in Mosul and wherever it seeks refuge in Iraq."

The troops will provide logistical support technicians, advisers and enablers.

The main thrust of the mission is the force militants out of Mosul, where insurgents have established a base and launch attacks on Baghdad and coalition forces.

"In anticipation of the Mosul fight, the United States and the government of Iraq have agreed that additional U.S. and coalition capabilities could help accelerate the campaign at this critical phase," Carter added. "President [Barack] Obama has authorized approximately 600 additional U.S. troops to further enable Iraqi forces.

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"The troops, in close coordination with the government of Iraq, will provide specific capabilities including logistics and maintenance support; train, advise and assist teams for Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish Peshmerga for the upcoming Mosul operation; and expanded intelligence resources to help disrupt ISIL's terrorist network in Iraq and beyond."

The deployment is expected in the coming weeks.

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